John C. Maxwell People Quotations

Whenever a high-profile leader dies, people immediately attempt to summarize that person's life in a sentence. Often, critics and commentators get caught up looking at the leader's style, or which political or philosophical camp they represented.

Most people want to avoid pain, and discipline is usually painful.

In the end, people are persuaded not by what we say, but by what they understand.

The best way a mentor can prepare another leader is to expose him or her to other great people.

Everyone has the potential to become an encourager. You don't have to be rich. You don't have to be a genius. You don't have to have it all together. All you have to do is care about people and initiate.

People who add value to others do so intentionally. I say that because to add value, leaders must give of themselves, and that rarely occurs by accident.

The best leaders are readers of people. They have the intuitive ability to understand others by discerning how they feel and recognizing what they sense.

How do leaders serve their people? They may pay good wages and treat employees with respect.

People who use time wisely spend it on activities that advance their overall purpose in life.

All of the people in my life whom I consider to be close friends or colleagues are good thinkers.

For more than a decade, I led an organization that put on an elaborate Christmas program each December. It was a big production, with over 250 people participating in more than 20 performances. By the end of the season, everyone who participated was exhausted.

All good leaders are connectors. They relate well and make people feel confident about themselves and their leader.

Positional leaders ignore the fact that every person has hopes, dreams, desires, and goals of his own. And leaders must bring their vision and the aspirations of the people they lead together in a way that benefits everyone.

Most people don't like change. They revolt against it unless they can clearly see the advantage it brings. For that reason, when good leaders prepare to take action or make changes, they take people through a process to get them ready for it.

Most people who decide to grow personally find their first mentors in the pages of books.

If you can learn to understand people how they think, what they feel, what inspires them, how they're likely to act and react in a given situation- then you can motivate and influence them in a positive way.

To be an influencer, you have to love people before you can try to lead them.

The best way to help people is to see the best in them.

To help [people] understand that what you shortcut today, cannot be made up tomorrow. So it's like, I'm not going to do anything today, and I'm going to do the wrong thing today and somehow tomorrow it will get a lot better."

Leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less. How do you gain influence from people? You invest in them. How do you invest in them? It starts with giving them time.

Why would God send people to our church if we don't have a great dream? Why would God give a multigifted, multitalented, and multifinancially wealthy person to a church if the biggest thing you are going to do is paint the restrooms next year? That's bad stewardship.

You have to live with the people to know their needs, and you have to live with God to know how to solve them.

People of poor character tend to blame their choices on circumstances. Ethical people make good choices regardless of circumstances. If they make enough good choices, they begin to create better conditions for themselves.

The measure of a leader is not the number of people who serve him, but the number of people he serves.

Without a vision people and the church become self-centered. People start finding fault with one another and the church self-destructs.

Without a vision people in leadership positions perish. You not only lose your people, you lose the person who is in a leadership position - you lose it all.

People can open doors for you, but you ... must walk through.

Vision is a picture of a desired future; a picture of something that I don't possess right now, but it is something I want to see and experience, and something I want the people I am leading to experience.

I wrote the book [Today Matters] because I have a passion to help people personally grow. Really what it is, it's a personal growth book.

Some people want everything to be perfect before they're willing to commit... But commitment always precedes achievement.

You add value to people when you value them.

If your desire is a 10 but your self-esteem is a 5, you'll never perform at the level of a 10. You'll perform as a 5 or lower. People are ever able to outperform their self-image.

There is definitely a connection between finding your passion and reaching your potential. People ask me all the time, 'John, how do I know what I am meant to do in life?' The answer is really simple: Energy and Excellence. When you experience unbounded energy in what you are doing, when you are driven to excellence in your work and love what you do - then you can rest assured that you have found your passion and are definitely in pursuit of your full potential.

Successful people don't have any fewer problems than unsuccessful people; they just have a different mindset in dealing with them.

Find something you like to do so much that you would gladly do it for nothing; then learn to do it so well that people are happy to pay you for it.

When I made that statement that the person discovers the secret of their success by their daily agenda, all of a sudden it hit me that if I could teach people to make today count; if I could really teach them what they need to do today to have a good day, that tomorrow would really take care of itself.

For many many years, I've taught, not only leadership, but I've taught people that they need a personal growth plan. Growth is not an automatic process for you or me or anybody.

Often people fail to start or complete a task because they don't see any connection between what they're doing and what they really want to accomplish in life.

People say, "John, what's your personal growth?" And ask "How do you grow?" And I tell them. I thought, "Why do I keep telling them, why don't I just write a book on what I call personal growth?" And that's what this [Today Matters] book is.

If you want to attract people, you need to be like people you enjoy being with.

A leader who develops people adds; a leader who develops leaders multiplies.

People buy into the leader before they buy into the vision. Many people who approach the area of vision in leadership have it backwards. They believe that if the cause is good enough, people will automatically buy in and follow. But that's not how leadership works. People don't follow worthy causes; they follow worthy leaders with a cause they can believe in. They buy into the leader first.

In the book [Today Matters] I talk about successful people make important decisions early in their life, and then they manage those decisions the rest of their life.

Image is what people think we are; integrity is whar we really are.

I think we impress people by our success, but I think we impact them by our failures.

Nothing separates successful people from unsuccessful people more than how they use their time!

To connect with people, be yourself, at your best.

People are not going to give you a vision, but God can.

The only way a church is going to be relevant is to get out of its comfort zone and connect with unchurched people.

Nothing speaks like results. If you want to build the kind of credibility that connects with people, then deliver results before you deliver a message. Get out and do what you advise others to do. Communicate from experience.

Everything you now do is something you have chosen to do. Some people don't want to believe that. But if you're over age twenty-one, your life is what you're making of it. To change your life, you need to change your priorities

Connecting is the ability to identify with people and relate to them in a way that increases your influence with them.

Believing in people before they have proved themselves is the key to motivating people to reach their potential.

As you begin changing your thinking, start immediately to change your behavior. Begin to act the part of the person you would like to become. Take action on your behavior. Too many people want to feel, then take action. This never works.

Character creates consistency, and if your people know what they can expect from you, they will continue to look to you for leadership.

Sometimes I hear people talk about discipline of self and I think, if you don't have passion, I might discipline myself for a week or two but only passion will hold me steady.

Few things build a person up like affirmation. According to Webster’s New World Dictionary, Third College Edition (Simon and Schuster, 1991), the word affirm comes from ad firmare, which means “to make firm.” So when you affirm people, you make firm within them the things you see about them. Do that often enough, and the belief that solidifies within them will become stronger than the doubts they have about themselves.

Difficulties seldom defeat people; lack of faith in themselves usually does it.

People will work eight hours a day for pay, 10 hours a day for a good boss, and 24 hours a day for a good cause!

If you don't love where you are right now, you won't love where you are going. Here is what I know: People who are passionate about what they do every day and love where they are in life are the fortunate ones. They have discovered their purpose. They are the difference makers who fully understand the gift of adding value, and yes, they can't help but love where they are going on their journey.

Tend to the people, and they will tend to the business.

Successful people do what is right no matter how they feel, and by doing right, they feel good.

I want to make a difference with people who want to make a difference, doing something that makes a difference.

If you can become the leader you ought to be on the inside, you will be able to become the person you want on the outside. People will want to follow you. And when that happens, you'll be able to tackle anything in this world.

Be willing to absorb some risk and failures to allow people freedom to express themselves.

Remember, at the time God gives us a vision, we never have the resources available to accomplish it. We don't have the people, the money, the knowledge, or the opportunity.

Inexperienced leaders are quick to lead before knowing anything about the people they intend to lead. But mature leaders listen, learn and then lead.

Set the tone for your day be treating people better than you expect to be treated by them. Be the first to smile. Express your appreciation for them. Expect the best out of them. If you act first, you will set yourself up for success.

If you have great people around you, they will take you higher than your dream will. Leaders are never self-made. Those closest to you determine your level of success, so choosing the right companions as partners in pursuit of your vision is an important decision. My advice is to surround yourself with talented people who will challenge you, help you grow and inspire you to maximize your potential.

The position does not make you a leader. The title, the promotion, the fancy corner office do not make you a leader. No, it is relationships with people that are the foundation, the very heart of leadership. Have you ever worked for someone you didn't like? It's difficult, isn't it? On the other hand, the leader you will follow anywhere and everywhere is one you know cares about you, and values you. This person has your best interests at heart. It is the leader who comes alongside to help you improve and grow.

No matter your title, people will not follow you if they don’t trust you.

Acquiring and keeping good people is a leader's most important task.

Whenever I mentor people and help them discover their purpose, I always encourage them to start the process by discovering their strengths, not exploring their shortcomings. Why? Because people's purpose in life is always connected to their giftedness. It always works that way. You are not called to do something that you have no talent for. You will discover your purpose by finding and remaining in your strength zone.

To help people believe they can achieve victory, put them in a position to experience small successes.

The more credible you are, the more confidence people place in you, thereby allowing you the privilege of influencing their lives.

The more seriously you take your growth, the more seriously your people will take you.

The happiest people are those who have harvested their time in others. The unhappiest people are those who wonder how the world is going to make them happy.

The rallying call to people is to give them hope. When you have hope, that's huge.

People are never able to outperform their self-image.

People will summarize your life in one sentence - Pick it now.

Many times when people leave churches we think it's a doctrinal issue, but most of the time it's a leadership issue.

Successful people make right decisions early and manage those decisions daily.

People's purpose in life is always connected to their giftedness.

When I had something I thought God was talking to me about, the first thing I did, before I ever talked to the congregation, was to sit down with the major influencers of the church and share with them what I thought God was speaking to me. I gave them time for input or questions. Many times they would ask questions and I would reply, "I need to spend more time on this. I'm not sure I'm thinking clearly there." Other times they added value and helped make this vision better or more accessible to the people.

Leaders have two characteristics: first they are going somewhere, and second they are able to persuade other people to go with them.

People naturally follow leaders stronger than themselves.

The better you are at surrounding yourself with people of high potential, the greater your chance for success.

Dreams require down payments. Dreams are free, but the journey isn't. There is a price to pay. When you find your why you'll find your way. When you develop your will you will embark on your way. Many people start; few people finish. Many people have a dream; few people achieve their dreams.

I keep telling people that the secret of their success is discovered in their daily agenda. What they do daily is going to determine their success.

Needless to say, you can love people without leading them, but you cannot lead people without loving them.

Your goal as a leader isn't to be indispensable to the people you lead; it is to leave your people something that is indispensable to them.

All visions begin with relationships. My relationship with God is where I receive the vision; my relationship with my people is where I give the vision. If those relationships aren't what they could be or should be, on either side, the receiving or the giving out, the vision is going to be aborted.

Others are ahead of me. I am continually challenged. My focus is forward. The atmosphere is affirming. I am often out of my comfort zone. I wake up excited. Failure is not my enemy. Others are growing. People desire change. Growth is modeled and expected.

I do a lot of conferences, a lot of leadership training. For about six or seven years I've been making this statement - every time I make it, I can see people just kind of - it's just one of those light bulb moments.

People change when they hurt enough that they have to change, learn enough that they want to change, receive enough that they are able to change.

If we treat people as who they can become, they will be inspired to rise to the level of our expectations.

Thank God for the tough times. They are the reason you are there - to be the leader. If everything was going well, the people wouldn't need you!

You can't move people to action unless you first move them with emotion. The heart comes before the head.

Successful people reject rejection.

When pastors ask me if their people will buy this vision, I ask them two questions: "Have they bought into your leadership?" If they haven't, don't ever try to pass on a vision. Second, "Have you processed this vision correctly?"